Blizzard Quote [source]
The last vestiges of an endless battle echo across the decimated terrain of an ancient crossroads. Once the epicenter of the Eternal Conflict, the war-torn fields that stretch before you now are eerily silent, save for the occasional scuffle of straggling soldiers and primordial scavengers that have made the best of this inhospitable expanse.
An abandoned fortress looms chillingly in the distance. Previously an outpost that stood as the last bastion of the Light before the Gates of the Burning Hells, it now houses a threat unlike any before.
Welcome to Pandemonium.
The Epitome of Endless Strife
Pandemonium is the scar of creation's birth, where angels and demons once fought fervently over control of the Worldstone. An ancient artifact with the power to shape reality, ownership of the Worldstone changed hands for eons—the High Heavens and Burning Hells trading blows, creating worlds, and then watching their inherently flawed creations wither away over and over again.
Those who are familiar with the events of the Sin War know that the renegade angel Inarius, along with the daughter of Mephisto, Lilith, stole away with the Worldstone, creating the world we now know as Sanctuary. With the artifact well hidden in this refuge, the battles in Pandemonium slowed over time and, eventually, ground to a halt.
Inarius and Lilith by Ziom05
Players will soon have the opportunity to revisit the estranged combat zone, but those who have previously walked the halls of Pandemonium Fortress will find it an entirely new experience. The battlefields have never before been traversed by Sanctuary's heroes, and though Pandemonium Fortress was once the base of operations in Act IV of Diablo II, the nephalem arriving now will find it much less hospitable.
Originally constructed by Tyrael to house and protect the Worldstone, one of the unique properties of the Pandemonium Fortress is that the structure takes on the appearance of those who control it. Though it's been conquered and reclaimed through the ages, without the ultimate prize that once lay within, the interest from both angels and demons in holding this keep has severely waned. However, such disinterest does prime the location for hiding away another artifact with the power to tip the scales in the Eternal Conflict forever.
Re-Imagining the Battlefield
Pandemonium has long been a locale our designers and writers have wished to explore to the fullest, and the previous excursion in Diablo II barely scratched the surface of what this realm has to offer. The concept of a nexus between the High Heavens and Burning Hells is a compelling one, but capturing the desired other-worldly feel without extending so far into the unknown as to be alien was a great challenge.
As Pandemonium was barely touched upon, there was a lot of room to draw outside inspiration. Everyone on the design and development team as well as any player who played Diablo II has an idea of what Pandemonium could be, and the idea of infinite possibilities remained strong among these concepts. This meant the best bet for fulfilling the fantasy of this location was to take all those ideas, mesh them together, and boil the resulting amalgamation down into a unified vision that makes you stop in your tracks and say, "Yes. That's Pandemonium."
Of course, it was important to make sure this zone felt like nothing else ever explored in Sanctuary, since it’s a place that the nephalem should find unfamiliar. It's a place where angels and demons have battled for eternity and so presented the question of what that would look like. What kind of inhabitants would remain in this land? Scavengers that live off the battlefield remnants, forgotten angels and demons that continue to fight forever, and unique creatures like the Realm Walker, an ancient beast burdened with the portal to an eternal prison, all resulted from these explorations in design.
Pushing Boundaries – Encompassing Eternity
External zones are always the most challenging, but Pandemonium takes this to an entirely new level. Both the battlefields and the Fortress itself needed to encompass the feelings of being ancient and infinite without losing players in a way that would distract from gameplay. In particular, our designers carefully avoided the perception of being displaced or wandering in outer space. The challenge was in ensuring a sense of grandeur that could house colossal enemies, evoke the excitement of the unexplored, and still sell the basic idea of plumbing the depths of a massive, ancient fortress.
This sort of dungeon delving is hardly new to the Diablo franchise, let alone in Act V. Pandemonium Fortress needed to be different from the Ruins of Corvus in the Blood Marsh or Bastion's Keep at the edge of Arreat Crater. Instead of finding an earthly construct, you'll find this eerie keep maintains the notion of a militant garrison while distinctly lacking the trappings of what one would expect from a human site.
Getting into the perfect balance of extra planar and relatable took fare more than the thoughts of an individual. In speaking to Lead Level Designer Dave Adams, he shared some insight on "ideation days," a process that the design team utilized in exploring this space. "We break up into groups and try and create single scene events that take place on 240 foot by 240 foot tiles. Seeing what each group comes up with and how different those ideas can be is really amazing. We often use this to steer the direction on an area. We had a lot of awesome events that came out of that, and you'll experience them in the game."
Knocking at Death’s Door: The Last Stand
The Pandemonium Fortress has become home to the starring villain of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls™. Malthael hopes to end the Eternal Conflict once and for all, regardless of what consequences and costs his actions might have. It is time now, heroes, to stretch beyond the limits of what you once believed possible and stop the Angel of Death from destroying all you know and love.
We hope you've enjoyed our First Look series behind the scenes of Act V's locations. Can no one truly stop Death? Let us know in the comments below what you’re looking most forward to tackling on the Battlefields of Eternity or within Pandemonium Fortress, and we hope you join us in the fight to save Sanctuary on March 25.Blizzard Quote [source]
Over the last month, artisans from around the world have rallied their styluses and art supplies to celebrate the upcoming release of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls™. One-by-one, they've channeled their inner nephalem to create stunning illustrations depicting one or more central figures of the expansion getting ready for the coming conflict against Malthael, the Angel of Death.
There are over $11,000 worth of prizes and a two-night trip to Blizzard HQ in Irvine, CA up for grabs, and by the time the deadline for the contest drew to a close last week, an incredible 3,619 pieces of stunning artwork had been submitted! The sheer talent of each and every one of these artists is astounding, and we highly encourage you to feast your eyes on all of the contest entries.
Twenty-five semi-finalists have been chosen by deviantART staff, and in the next few weeks, we'll be announcing the three grand-prize winners of this epic contest, so stay tuned! In the meantime, feast your eyes on the top 25 semi-finalists below.
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| "Fist of Conviction" by Yong Jun Cho (Nixell) |
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| "Among the Dead" by TheRafa | "Waypoint" by Nicc Balce (Robotnicc) |
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| "Immortal Soul Set in Stone" by Deeedge |
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| "Witch Doctor" by deathstars69 | "Diablo III RoS Contest" by Klaus Pillon (KlausPillon) |
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| "The Spirits Grant Me Blessings" by congbu |
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| "New Evil" by Kuzinskiy Audrey (Kuzinskiy) | "Alternative Angel" by bongbaba |
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| "Reaper of Souls" by Peter Balogh (PeterPrime) |
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| "The Calm Before the Storm" by TheEchoDragon |
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| "Crusader" by Shen Fei (Shenfeic) | "D3 Witch Doctor" by daemonstar |
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| "Malthael - Reaper of Souls" by ArisT0te |
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| "A Witch Doctor" by Kashuse |
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| "Golden Hour Monk" by Leanfro Furlanetto (Slipled) | "Crusader" by Andrei Sherstuk (kkkiri) |
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| "Diablo 3 Witch Doctor" by Igor-Grechany-Ostrov |
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| "Monk" by 0BO |
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| "Diablo III Reaper of Souls - The Crusader" by marrten | "Bless" by Tarasov Konstantin (Pixmilk) |
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| "Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Fan Art Contest" by cyl1981 |
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| "Diablo III" by Bae Hoon Ku (SearchFinder) | "Respite" by glitchritual |
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| "Blizzard Contest Malthael" by Joel-Laggerwall |
Thank you to all contest participants for being a part of our wonderfully creative community, and good luck to the 25 semi-finalists! For even more diabolical revelry, be sure to check out more of the artists's work in their respective galleries listed above.
Are you interested in joining in and creating something special for the upcoming launch of Reaper of Souls? Make sure to tell us all about it over in our Community Creations forum!
Blizzard Quote [source]
Only one week remains until Malthael, the Angel of Death, makes his terrifying return to the mortal realm. One week until you can lay siege to Act V, charge forth as the Crusader, master powerful new skills, and explore the world of Sanctuary like never before. One week!
To tide you over until death's descent, we've just unleashed our official gameplay trailer on YouTube. Discover what harrowing challenges and tantalizing rewards await your heroes beyond the gates of Westmarch in the all-new video below.
Are you ready to go anywhere and slay anything? We sure as hell are! Diablo III: Reaper of Souls™ arrives on March 25, but remember: death is only the beginning.
Patch 2.0.1 will introduce our updated Paragon leveling system (often referred to as "Paragon 2.0"), adding even more end-game character advancement and replayability. This update will affect all Diablo III accounts across all regions as the patch is implemented, and is currently available for testing on the Patch 2.0.1 PTR and Reaper of Souls Closed Beta.
For those of you who haven't yet experimented with this new system, here's a first look.
What's Changing?
The initial implementation of the Paragon system introduced in patch 1.0.4 was designed to provide players with additional end-game progression, offering bonuses for experience gained past the standard level cap. This system was created to accompany and complement the more innate item-based progression in Diablo III, which is all about finding powerful artifacts and putting them to use against the demonic legions of the Burning Hells.
While the original version of the Paragon leveling system achieved its many goals, with time players would max out at level 100 and no longer feel rewarded for vanquishing evil. With patch 2.0.1, we're making three big changes to the Paragon system that are aimed at giving you greater control over your hero, promoting variety in build options, and offering more character customization than ever before.
Change #1: Goodbye Level Cap
The first change we're making with Paragon 2.0 is removing the level cap, so you will always be able to earn Paragon experience once you've reached max level. Play as much as you like you'll always be able to earn more Paragon levels!
Change #2: Shared Paragon Levels
The second change is that Paragon levels are now account-wide per game mode (i.e. Normal and Hardcore). All Normal heroes on an account will share a Paragon level. Similarly, all Hardcore heroes on an account will share a Paragon level. After patch 2.0.1 goes live, any Paragon experience you gain on your Normal or Hardcore heroees will contribute to your account's Normal Shared Paragon level or Hardcore Shared Paragon level, respectively.
We made this change so players wouldn't feel obligated to continue playing the same hero over and over again in order to maximize their farming efficiency. We want players to have fun with the game, to experiment with different classes, and to feel rewarded for their time investment, regardless of what hero they're playing. We also want everyone to fully enjoy the new content coming in Reaper of Souls including the Crusader class without feeling as though they've "wasted Paragon levels" on a previous hero.
While only max-level heroes can earn shared Paragon experience and contribute to your account's shared Paragon level, all heroes (regardless of level) will be eligible to receive Paragon Points our third major change to the Paragon leveling system.
Change #3: Paragon Points
As noted, the third change is that the rewards for gaining Paragon levels have drastically changed. In Patch 2.0.1, the static Magic Find, Gold Find, and class stat bonuses awarded for each Paragon level are being replaced by spendable Paragon Points.
In the new system, whenever you gain a Paragon level, you will receive a Paragon Point to allocate at your discretion. Paragon Points are earned in four separate categories: Core, Offense, Defense, and Utility, and the Paragon level you earn will determine the category in which that Paragon Point can be spent. Paragon level 1 will give you a point to spend in a Core stat, Paragon level 2 will give you a point in Offense, Paragon level 3 will give you a point to spend in Defense, and Paragon level 4 will give you a point to spend in Utility. Paragon Point progression for all future levels will follow this same pattern (sometimes referred to as round-robin).
In addition, each category also four different attributes. Spending points in these attributes will provide specific bonuses for your hero.
Core points can be spent on your class's primary stat, Vitality, Movement Speed, or bonus Class Resource.
Offensive points focus on increasing your damage output and efficiency, and include Attack Speed, Cooldown Reduction, Critical Hit Chance, and Critical Hit Damage.
Defensive points include stats that help improve your survivability. Options include bonus Life percentage, bonus Armor, Resist All, and Life Regeneration.
Utility points include more specialized stats that allow players to refine their builds. These points can be spent on boons like Area Damage, Resource Cost Reduction, Life on Hit, and Gold Find.
At present, all attributes in each category other than core stats (Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Vitality) have a cap on the number of points that can be allocated to them, which also means there is a cap to the total number of Paragon Points you can accumulate in three of the four categories. By the time you reach Paragon 800, you will have maxed the number of points that can be allocated to the Offensive, Defensive, and Utility categories and all future Paragon levels you earn going forward will grant you a Paragon Point in the Core stat category instead.
Additional Details:
- The new Paragon system is account-wide; all heroes will benefit from the gained bonuses, including your newly created characters!
- Your account's Paragon Point pool is not shared between your heroes. Instead, heroes on your account will each get their own set of Paragon Points to spend independently (e.g. you can spend your Paragon Points differently for each hero). To provide an example, if your account's Normal Shared Paragon level is 100, all Normal heroes on your account will each get 100 Paragon Points to distribute as you see fit.
- All heroes will be able to contribute to Shared Paragon levels equally. There are no bonuses or burdens for Paragon leveling multiple heroes of the same class.
- Be sure to experiment! You can reset your Paragon Points at any time without having to pay a single gold coin. Respecs occur on the hero level, not the account level, so respeccing on one hero will not reset your Paragon Points on other heroes.
To provide an example, here's a new level 1 hero. This hero will begin with a Shared Paragon level of 127 as well as 127 Paragon Points, which can be allocated at will to the four different categories.
Transitioning to the New System
Heroes who have gained Paragon experience under the old system will transition seamlessly to the new system. When Paragon 2.0 goes live with patch 2.0.1, we'll being adding up all the Paragon experience on each of your heroes and then using that combined total (the total amount of Paragon experience you have, not the total number of Paragon levels) to determine your Shared Paragon level. Again, this will be broken down by game type Normal and Hardcore.
Players can distribute their earned points through the Paragon interface, accessed by clicking the "Paragon" button located in your hero's character sheet.
Additional Details:
- Please note that legacy Paragon levels will not convert to Paragon 2.0 levels on a one-to-one ratio, and that the number of Paragon levels is not being totaled, just the amount of Paragon experience.
- The Paragon experience curve has changed with patch 2.0.1 as well. With the transition to Paragon 2.0, your Shared Paragon level will be at least as high as the highest Paragon level hero on your account.
- We have also decided that the valiant deeds of Hardcore heroes who died beyond level 60 deserve commemoration. Dead Hardcore heroes will contribute their cumulated Paragon experience to an account's Hardcore Shared Paragon level total.
- After Paragon 2.0 goes live, if you are level 60 and do not have the Reaper of Souls enabled on your account, you will continue to earn Paragon experience in the new system. This is because you are still technically at the level cap. However, if you are level 60 and decide to enable the expansion on your account, you will stop earning Paragon experience. This is because the expansion increases the level cap to 70. Once you reach level 70, you will start to accrue Paragon experience again from where you left off. (So, basically: Only max-level characters will be able to earn Paragon experience. If you don't have the expansion, max-level = 60. If you have the expansion, max-level = 70.)
- Under Paragon 2.0, if a character dies or is deleted, the amount of Paragon experience it contributed to your Shared Paragon level will not be lost. This is a benefit of having Paragon experience stored at the account level, rather than at the character level.
- Lastly, you will keep the portraits you have already earned in the first version of the Paragon system.
Try Paragon 2.0 on the PTR
You can experience the new Paragon system coming in patch 2.0.1 on the PTR. Check out how your heroes feel with new stats, play around with different stat builds by spending Paragon Points, and check out the new Paragon progression curve. Once you've tried it out, visit the PTR forums to leave your feedback we'd love to hear what you think!
Blizzard Quote [source]
...but the minions of Hell grow stronger.
Lore seekers and theorycrafters, take note: the Crusader class page and skill calculator are now available in the Diablo III Game Guide!
The Crusader Class Page
The Crusader class page is a vast repository of sacred knowledge, containing key details about these unyielding champions of the Light. On the page, you will find a litany of practical information including core class mechanics, character background, unique equipment, a resource overview, an armor progression preview, combat screenshots, artwork, and more.
Updated Skill Calculator
In addition to these high-level highlights, the class page also provides a comprehensive breakdown of Crusader skills and abilities. If you're looking to challenge Malthael's armies in Westmarch and beyond, be sure to explore the Active, Passive, and Progression sub-pages to learn more about the divine powers your Crusader can wield. We also encourage you to experiment with new builds using our updated Skill Calculator!
For more information about Crusader lore and history, click here. For a sneak peek at the upcoming Crusader short story, "The End of Her Journey," click here.
To learn about other recent changes made to the Game Guide, click here.